Statoil shareholders to vote Tuesday on name change

The main installation vessel, which will put the fifth and final wind turbine on itÂs foundation, next to the completed wind turbines of the Block Island Wind Farm in New Shoreham, R.I., Aug. 16, 2016. The just-completed project off the coast of Rhode Island, though relatively tiny, is at the forefront of a sea-based transition to renewable energy. (Kayana Szymczak/The New York Times) less

The main installation vessel, which will put the fifth and final wind turbine on itÂs foundation, next to the completed wind turbines of the Block Island Wind Farm in New Shoreham, R.I., Aug. 16, 2016. The ... more

Photo: KAYANA SZYMCZAK, STR

Photo: KAYANA SZYMCZAK, STR

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The main installation vessel, which will put the fifth and final wind turbine on itÂs foundation, next to the completed wind turbines of the Block Island Wind Farm in New Shoreham, R.I., Aug. 16, 2016. The just-completed project off the coast of Rhode Island, though relatively tiny, is at the forefront of a sea-based transition to renewable energy. (Kayana Szymczak/The New York Times) less

The main installation vessel, which will put the fifth and final wind turbine on itÂs foundation, next to the completed wind turbines of the Block Island Wind Farm in New Shoreham, R.I., Aug. 16, 2016. The ... more

Photo: KAYANA SZYMCZAK, STR

Statoil shareholders to vote Tuesday on name change

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Norwegian oil major Statoil plans to change its name to "Equinor" this week after shareholders vote Tuesday on the rebranding.

Moving away from the word "oil" with growing investments in renewable energy, the new Equinor name would become official on Wednesday and begin trading as soon as Thursday on the "EQNR" stock ticker.

The new name combines "equal" to reflect its corporate values and more balanced portfolio with "Norway" to maintain its roots and pride.

In recent years, Statoil has emerged as a pioneer in offshore wind farms and, most recently, on the floating wind turbine facilities that can be built even farther offshore where the winds are stronger. Statoil also recently began investing in solar energy projects for the first time in South America.

"We had the discussion, 'Who are we going to be in the future?'" said CEO Eldar Sætre in a recent interview. "Beyond oil and gas, we say we really want to be a broad energy company. We need to think about this evolution even 50 or 60 years from now. You can't say, 'I'll fix it later.'"